Yes, it's already begun for me. It doesn't help that in the last couple of days the weather has been unusually pleasant.
I spent Sunday with my parents and Tyler at the Missouri Botanical Gardens (MOBOT). We enjoyed the orchid show, which runs for another month or so. I highly recommend it. Orchids everywhere. Every color, every size, some fragrant. The display itself, without any orchids, was impressive.
We decided to walk around the gardens to see if anything was coming up. I have to admit, I am a little disgusted. No, not with MOBOT, but with my own garden. MOBOT is set up so fantastically that even in the dead of winter, the gardens look great! One thing about garden design that is always a good reminder in winter, is that the garden needs good bones. If it has good bones, it will look good in all seasons. Clearly, I have some work to do in this area.
I had two major design ideas come out of our walk around the gardens. The first is actually something I've been dreaming up for a while, but wasn't sure about the execution. The stone steps in and outside the Temperate house are what I've been looking for. Stone stairs flanked by loose, carefully placed stones, with gardens touching either side, is the perfect solution. If anyone knows a good landscaper, let me know. This is not a job I'm interested in doing myself.
The second is to plant a mass of liriope under trees. I know that sounds really simple, but the look is stunning. It probably also helps that MOBOT had very formal garden shapes with squares of liriope alternated with some other type of groundcover. I am definitely going to try this in Spring.
